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Working Group Recommendation December 12, 2025

Scientific Knowledge Graphs Interoperability Framework (SKG-IF): Enabling Data Exchange for SKGs

  • Output Type: Working Group Recommendation
  • Output Status: Endorsed
  • Review Period End: 2026-01-12
  • DOI: 10.15497/RDA00150
  • Primary Domain: Domain Agnostic
  • RDA Pathways: Semantics, Ontology, Standardisation
  • Group Technology Focus: Archiving, Citation & Provenance, Data (Output) Management Planning, Depositing Research Outputs, Dissemination, Long-Term Preservation, Re-Use, Search & Discovery
  • Stakeholders: Funders & Policy makers, Infrastructure Providers, Libraries, Regions & Nations, Research Performing Organisations, Researchers & Scientists
  • Sustainable Development Goals: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  • Language: English

Abstract

The SKG-IF aims to facilitate seamless exchange of information across diverse Scientific Knowledge Graphs (SKGs), thereby reducing duplication of effort, enriching individual graphs, and establishing SKGs as a central pillar of Open Science scholarly communication. This report outlines the work undertaken in this direction by the Research Data Alliance (RDA) Working Group on the Scientific Knowledge Graphs – Interoperability Framework (SKG-IF). It addresses the increasing need for interoperability among SKGs to support Open Science and FAIRness in research, and foster the transition to Open Research Information (ORI), in compliance with the recent Barcelona Declaration. This report details the context, motivation, and goals behind the development of the SKG-IF, presents its core components including the data model (SKG-IF Data Model), API specifications, and extension guidelines, and provides pointers to the comprehensive online documentation, which ultimately remains the most up-to-date and detailed source of information about the framework. 

Impact Statement

Aligned with the spirit of the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information and the CoARA WG on Open Infrastructures for Responsible Research Assessment (OI4RRA), the SKG-IF provides the technical framework to transition away from proprietary, closed, and monolithic bibliometric systems toward an ecosystem of openly federated ones.
Its impact lies in democratising access to scholarly metadata, allowing diverse stakeholders—from national funders to individual labs—to enrich and remix information from diverse sources. By standardising the representation of research products and their relationships, the SKG-IF ensures that the global scientific record is open, verifiable, and inclusive of diverse research outputs beyond traditional publications.

Explanation of Sustainable Development Goals

SKG-IF addresses SDG 9 by:

  • Upgrading Digital Infrastructure: It provides a universal “interchange” for scholarly metadata, transforming isolated databases into a resilient, interconnected global network.

  • Fostering Inclusive Innovation: By establishing open standards, it lowers barriers to entry for smaller institutions and developing nations, allowing them to integrate into the global research ecosystem without the need to design and build proprietary, high-cost solutions from scratch.

  • Enhancing Scientific Research (Target 9.5): By making research data machine-actionable, the framework enables AI-driven discovery and more efficient tracking of scientific impact, directly accelerating the technological capabilities of both public and private sectors.

Citations

Mannocci, A., Peroni, S., & Scientific Knowledge Graphs Interoperability Framework (SKG-IF) WG. (2025). Scientific Knowledge Graphs Interoperability Framework (SKG-IF): Enabling Data Exchange for SKGs. Research Data Alliance. https://doi.org/10.15497/RDA00150

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